Future's rebound means more titles

After two years of redundancies and a tumbling stock price, official PlayStation 2 magazine publisher Future Network has announced it has returned to profit and is back on the acquisition trail.

Future Network - which also publishes Total Film and the Manchester United magazine - said yesterday it had turned a £121m loss in 2001 into a pre-tax profit of £10.7m last year and announced plans for expansion.

The company cut 800 staff and closed 40 titles in 2001 after a massive expansion programme overstretched its finances. The Bath-based company, which makes most of its money from computer gaming magazines, was hit hard by the advertising downturn and the dotcom crash. But chief executive Greg Ingham has led a turnaround in fortunes.

Mr Ingham, who took control of the company after founder and former chairman Chris Anderson quit at the height of Future's troubles in December 2001, said the company was back on track. Future said it had bought four magazines from French publisher Hachette for £3.5m, including the French version of the PlayStation 2 title.

"Future is now well positioned strategically, managerially and financially. It is a successful specialist consumer magazine publisher," he said.

"We have agreed to acquire four magazines in France from Hachette, subject to regulatory approval. We will launch several new titles this year and may make further acquisitions," he added.

The company publishes 54 magazines in the UK, including 29 computer and gaming titles, as well as 28 magazines thoughout the United States, France and Italy.

Mr Ingham also announced two high profile appointments to the Future board. Lisa Gordon - who last year quit as corporate development director at Chrysalis to spend more time with her family and sparked a wave of media comment on the role of women in the boardroom - will join as non-executive director.